Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to visit Florida on Friday to give her remarks regarding the state Board of Education’s recent decision to adjust how Black history is taught in public schools.
On Wednesday, the Florida Board of Education approved the new academic guidelines amidst a wave of opposition from Florida teachers, who requested the board to postpone the decision.
Florida’s revised curriculum: Controversial elements sparking outrage
The new educational standards, according to a 216-page document detailing Florida’s social studies standards for 2023 published by the Florida Department of Education, will include instruction on how some Black individuals derived benefits from slavery by acquiring useful skills.
This particular aspect of the revised curriculum has sparked widespread controversy among educators and advocates for education.
Another aspect that has sparked outrage about the revised curriculum involves educating students on incidents where Black individuals were involved in violence during racial conflicts.
According to a report, a White House official, in a statement shared that Vice President Harris’ visit to Jacksonville intends to underscore the necessity to “protect fundamental freedoms, specifically, the freedom to learn and teach America’s full and true history.”
More on Florida’s new Black History standards
Florida Education Board’s approval of new Black History standards sparks criticism
Harris voices her discontent regarding new black history standards
The Vice President, during a convention for the traditionally Black sorority Delta Sigma Theta Inc., expressed her discontent with the changes.
“Just yesterday in the state of Florida, they decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefited from slavery,” she said.
“They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us, and we will not stand for it,” she added.
During her visit, Vice President Harris, will “convene parents, educators, civil rights leaders, and elected officials to address these attacks and highlight the coalitions required to protect fundamental freedoms,” the official further shared.
The revamped guidelines have been heavily criticized by the Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers’ union representing approximately 150,000 teachers, labeling it a “step backward.”
The United Teachers of Dade echoed these sentiments, accusing the education board of attempting to alter history.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava also criticized the new guidelines.
She said in a tweet on Thursday that “Slavery didn’t benefit the enslaved—period. And here in Miami-Dade, we don’t rewrite history. African Americans fought to overcome slavery & segregation, & are still fighting racism to this day. We must condemn disinformation, ensuring the next generation learns from our past.”
Defenders of the new standards
On the other hand, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. refuted claims by groups such as the Florida Education Association teachers union and the NAACP Florida State Conference that the new standards “omit or rewrite key historical facts about the Black experience” and ignore state law about required instruction.
Diaz defended the standards and praised the workgroup involved in developing the curriculum and the Department of Education’s African American History Task Force.
Two members of Florida’s African American History Standards Workgroup, William Allen and Frances Presley Rice, also defended the new guidelines, terming them as “rigorous and comprehensive” and saying they aimed to show “that some slaves developed highly specialized trades from which they benefitted.”
